Why Did a Vaccinated Teen in New York Get Tetanus?
He cut himself while whittling, his favorite hobby.
While we are used to the tragic stories of unvaccinated children and adults getting very sick with measles, diphtheria, and tetanus, etc., it is much less common to hear about these cases when folks are vaccinated.
But that does seem to be the story of the teen in New York who recently spent six weeks in the hospital after developing tetanus.
Why Did a Vaccinated Teen in New York Get Tetanus?
A teen who was vaccinated and protected against tetanus.
“Joe Heck had gotten his last vaccine in 2016, and wasn't scheduled to get another booster until next year.”
Rare tetanus case hospitalizes Selden teen Joe Heck for 6 weeks
Well, partially vaccinated…
“Nineteen-year-old Joe Heck was whittling wood in his Selden home — a favorite hobby — when the knife slipped and poked a hole in the webbing between his left thumb and forefinger.”
Rare tetanus case hospitalizes Selden teen Joe Heck for 6 weeks
You see, the teen had suffered a wound that led to his getting tetanus.
A wound that likely seemed like a clean, minor wound that didn’t require an updated tetanus booster, as it had been less than 10 years since his last tetanus vaccine.
But he didn’t have a clean, minor wound.
“All other wounds (contaminated with dirt, feces, saliva, soil; puncture wounds; avulsions; wounds resulting from flying or crushing objects, animal bites, burns, frostbite)”
Summary Guide to Tetanus Prophylaxis in Routine Wound Management
He had suffered a puncture wound.
A wound that guidelines said should be treated with a tetanus vaccine if it had been more than five years since his last dose (and tetanus immune globulin if he had been unvaccinated).
And no, it doesn’t matter if the wound bled a lot or if you washed it out well. You still need a tetanus shot in this situation!
References
Rare tetanus case hospitalizes Selden teen Joe Heck for 6 weeks. https://www.newsday.com/news/health/tetanus-selden-teen-dust-t7o9fyvh
Summary Guide to Tetanus Prophylaxis in Routine Wound Management. https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/tetanus/hcp/tetwdmgmtc.pdf